This article describes the number of children and young people in New Zealand who receive amedical assessment for sexual abuse, the proportion of those where there is concern about sexual abuse who receive such assessments and the way in which assessment services are structured. The authors conclude that "health assessments for alleged child and adolescent sexual abuse are relatively infrequent, nationally inconsistent and often poorly supported by local health ystems. There is also marked but apparently unrelated regional variation in statutory child protection practice." [from the abstract]